Author favors a 'People's Public Park' along North End waterfront

All of the land east of Ocean Avenue in Asbury Park, our beaches and boardwalk, is public land. In other words, the land belongs to all the people in Asbury Park. All public lands are held in trust for the American people by the federal, state, and local governments. The oceans belong to all peoples all over the world. All rivers, streams, and lakes move towards and into our seas bringing their corrupted waters to all of us.

Federal, state and local governments in the U.S., a government for and by the people, are simply the managers and stewards of public lands and public spaces. The managers of these public lands must insure open and accessible entry, protect and preserve for the people our beaches, boardwalks, and parks. There is no better way to do this in our beloved city then by creating a People’s Public Park at the Northeast oceanfront in Asbury Park, to protect and preserve this last natural oceanfront public area from residential and commercial development immediately adjacent to it. Lastly, if we lose the sweetness of our waters, we lose the life of the land, if we lose the life of the land, we lose our plant life and forests, if we lose our plant life and forests, we lose the purity of our air, if we lose the purity of our air, we lose all the peoples and creatures of the earth. Not just for ourselves but for our children and grandchildren, both now and in the future.

— Joyce Grant, Asbury Park

Co-Chair, Oceanfront Preservation Coalition

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